Family Portrait
by Tsubasa Hane
Summary: Finding a single picture of her family as it was so long ago, Wanda goes through an emotionlly painful trip down memory lane.


When I first heard this song sung by Pink, the first thing that popped into my head was _Evo_ Wanda. Characters tend to do that sometimes—have random songs that remind me of them. Couples, too. But I'm getting off track… I understand that this fic can be a little confusing at times, and for that I apologize.

It was organized as if it were a music video more than a fanfic. Look at it this way—makes 'ya think a little bit. Gets those brain cells working. ^_^

* * *

**Family Portrait

* * *

**

Wanda stands perfectly still, the door shut tightly behind her as she surveys her new surroundings. To be perfectly honest, it was a definite improvement over the asylum, that was for sure. Granted, she now had to share it with her—ugh—brother, and granted, her new roommates seemed crazier than her old ones…but at least she didn't have to be locked up anymore.

But if she was so free, why did she voluntarily lock herself in her room?

She walks over to her one sack of belongings, having been at the brotherhood house for over a week and still not having unpacked, and decides it would be the perfect time to go through her stuff.

Most of it is clothing, but then she finds a much smaller piece of cloth…only to find something heavy wrapped up inside. Carefully, she undoes the wrapping to find a small picture frame, the one thing she kept from her childhood. She gasps at the posing figures, recognizing them right away.

It was a portrait, obviously taken many years ago. Her mother, a lovely raven-haired woman greatly resembling an older version of Wanda, was present right alongside Magneto—her father—and younger images of her and her brother sat on their parents' laps.

Memories start coming back to her in a rush of flashbacks, and she sets the picture down, thinking that they would go away. They don't.

She stands up, eyes not leaving the picture, and the room suddenly goes pitch-black in her mind, leaving nothing but her and the portrait of smiling faces…

**Wanda: **_Mamma please stop cryin'; I can't stand the sound  
Your pain is painful and it's tearin' me down_

The blackness fades into a scene Wanda remembers well; she and Pietro couldn't have been much more than four years old then, back when they were still as close as twins could possibly be. She stood off to the side, watching the young images sleeping soundly. She walks over and tries to brush away some of the strands falling in her image's face, but her hand just goes right threw it. The bedroom door to the side is slightly ajar to allow light in. Through the tiny crack, however, she could easily see the shadows of her mother and father having a very animated argument

_I hear glass breakin' as I sit up in my bed_

Sure enough, the suddenly crashes of various dishes, glasses, and even a vase against a wall suddenly awaken the younger Wanda from her slumber. With a gasp, she sits up in her bed at the same time that Young Pietro does from his side of the room. Their beds face one another, making it easy for the sibling to meet eye-to-eye, immediately knowing what it was that woke them.

_I told Dad you didn't mean those nasty things you said  
You fight about money, 'bout me and my brother_

"Pietro?" Young Wanda speaks up, clutching tightly to her blanket.

"Yeah?"

"…can I come over to your bed? I don't wanna be by myself."

With a nod from Young Pietro, Young Wanda hops out of her own bed and silently walks across the floor to his. She climbs up the side with much difficulty, given her height at the time, and upon reaching the top snuggles into the bed besides Young Pietro. They try and go to sleep facing one another and ignore the screaming going on downstairs. Some of it includes the words "mutant," "lie," and "freak". Little Wanda clutches the blanket tightly for comfort, as her brother tells her not to cry, that it'll be okay, meanwhile trying not to do the same thing himself.

Standing over in her corner of the room, Wanda remembers this time well. Her mother and father had been arguing about his mutation, something he had kept from her even after their marriage but she had eventually found out. Her mother hated mutants, and swore that if either or their children showed ANY signs of being a "freak," she would leave.

_And this I come home to; this is my shelter_

The image fades away, to be replaced with a scene of Young Pietro and Young Wanda sitting quietly at the kitchen table, eating breakfast. To one side of the table, Magneto sits, ignoring everything around him except for the paper he reads with intent interest. Simultaneously, the two (as well as Wanda, herself) turn their heads to see their mother with her back turned to them, calmly washing the dishes. Everything is eerily quiet compared to the commotion that had gone on the night before.

_It ain't easy growin' up in World War III  
Never knowin' what love you be, you'll see  
I don't want love to destroy me like it has done my family_

This image, too, fades, and Wanda suddenly finds herself back in the black abyss.

_Can we work it out? Can we be a family?  
I promise I'll be better, Mommy I'll do anything  
Can we work it out? Can we be a family?  
I promise I'll be better, Mommy please don't leave_

The sound of her father shouting erupts from somewhere in the vast darkness, and Wanda covers her ears to try and block the noise

_Daddy, please stop yellin' I can't stand the sound_

A woman's crying joins the shouting, and Wanda drops to her knees, clutching her hears tightly and shutting her eyes

_Make momma stop cryin', 'cuz I need her around_

She opens then to find herself face-to-face with the picture, in which they're all smiling and look genuinely happy. She traces her fingers gently over the image of her mother, than of her and her brother

_My momma she loves you, no matter what she says, it's true  
I know that she hurts you, but remember we love you, too_

Looking up, Wanda finds herself projected into another memory. The rain pours downward by the bucket-full, and she can feel it, but she somehow doesn't get wet. The sound of crying brings her attention to a little girl (herself) running away from the house, her hair already plastered to her forehead.

_I ran away today, ran away from the noise, ran away_

Young Wanda stops suddenly when Young Pietro comes up behind her. Even before his powers manifested, he had always been a fast runner. He, too, was crying and pleaded for Young Wanda not to go.

"Please Wanda, don't leave me…I need you. I can't stay by myself, I just can't!"

_Don't wanna go back to that place, but don't have no choice, no way_

Wanda watches as the image of her younger self reluctantly agrees to go back, Young Pietro's arm around her shoulder, their heads touching.

"It'll be okay, Wanda, I promise. It'll be okay as long as we stick together…"

_It ain't easy growin' up in World War III  
Never knowin' what love could be, well I've seen  
I don't want love to destroy me like it did my family_

The image fades away, leaving Wanda alone in the darkness once more. This time, the tears come streaming down her cheeks.

_Can we work it out? Can we be a family?  
I promise I'll be better, Mommy I'll do anything  
Can we work it out? Can we be a family?  
I promise I'll be better, Mommy please don't leave_

She looks down at the picture still resting on the floor and gently picks it up, staring at the smiling faces

_In our family portrait, we look pretty happy  
Let's play pretend, let's act like it comes naturally_

A circular-image appears briefly to her right, showing her waiting on the corner for her mother to come pick her up for Thanksgiving. (The sad truth, or course, was that she never showed up)

_I don't wanna have to split the holidays_

It vanishes, and another to her left shows a split image of her standing in front of her father's house, compared to standing in front of her mother's.

_I don't want two addresses_

As it disappears, a third appears directly in front of her, showing her mother leaving with her newest "boyfriend," who just so happens to have a son of his own. She walks past Young Wanda like the girl wasn't even there.

_I don't want no step-brother, anyways_

This fades into an image of a divorce document, where her mother's hand signs the required signature, obviously using her maiden name.

_And I don't want my mom to have to change her last name_

Caught up in the rage, she throws the picture to the ground, and the frame shatters. Through the broken glass, the image of little Wanda and little Pietro begin to sing to her.

**Little Pietro/Wanda:** _In our family portrait, we look pretty happy  
We look pretty normal; let's go back to that  
In our family portrait, we look pretty happy  
Let's play pretend, act like it goes naturally_

Her voice just barely above a whisper, Wanda absentmindedly begins to sing over the two of them

_In our family portrait we look pretty happy_  
(**Wanda: **_Can we work it out? Can we be a family?_)  
_We look pretty normal, let's go back to that._  
(**Wanda:** _I promise I'll be better, Mommy I'll do anything_)  
In our family portrait, we look pretty happy  
(**Wanda: **_Can we work it out? Can we be a family?_)  
_Let's play pretend and act like it comes so naturally  
_(**Wanda: **_I promise I'll be better; Mommy, please don't leave_)  
_In our family portrait, we look pretty happy_  
(**Wanda: **_Can we work it out? Can we be a family?_)  
_We look pretty normal, let's go back to that_  
(**Wanda: **_I promise I'll be better, Mommy please don't leave_)

Wanda looks up to see a circle-image of the night her mother storming out the door of her house, suitcases in hand. She starts murmuring in a daze as the image plays over and over again.

_Mommy, don't leave…  
Mommy don't leave…  
Mommy don't leave…_

_Turn around please  
Remember that the night you left you took my shining star?_

Young Wanda and Young Pietro stare out the front window as their mother throws her belongings into the trunk of her car. Young Wanda chooses that moment to look up at the sky and sees a shooting star fly overhead. From then on, she vows to hate them forever.

_Mommy don't leave…  
Mommy don't leave…  
Mommy don't leave…_

The image goes black for a moment, than back into the kitchen scene, where Magneto continues to read his newspaper, ignoring everything else around him. But this time, when Young Wanda and Young Pietro turn their heads…there's no mommy washing the breakfast dishes.

_Don't leave us here alone_

A flash of Magneto yelling runs by her head.

_Dad will be nicer  
I'll be so much better; I'll tell my brother_

A new kitchen scene briefly appears, featuring yet another argument between her parents as Young Wanda and Young Pietro try to eat their dinner. Young Wanda gets so upset that her glass of milk suddenly tips over by itself, causing it's contents to spill everywhere. Everything pauses suddenly as her parents turn to stare at her; her father with a look of excitement on his face, and her mother with a look of horror on hers. Feeling suddenly embarrassed, Young Wanda abruptly apologizes and runs to get some towels to clean up her mess.

'I remember that…' Wanda vaguely things to herself, 'That was the first time my powers made an appearance…' It would be another five years, however, before they would do so again, this time permanently.

_Oh, I won't spill the milk at dinner  
I'll be so much better, I'll do…everything right…_

Finally, a still shot of Young Wanda lying awake in her bed replaces all of the others, before fading to black…leaving Wanda with nothing but the shattered picture frame and the photo inside it.

_I'll be your little girl forever  
I'll go to sleep at night…_

A knock at the door, and Wanda finds herself back in her room at the Brotherhood mansion. Not bothering to turn around, she mutters, "Come in." Pietro timidly stick his head though the doorway.

"Wanda, are you okay? We thought we heard glass breaking up here…" he freezes when he sees the picture frame shattered on the floor, recognizing the portrait inside it right away.

Wanda turns to face her twin brother, the tears still freely falling, and stares at him as if trying to figure out who he is. Forgetting his fear of her power for a moment, Pietro rushes in to face her. He gently grabs her by the shoulders and knowingly meets her eye to eye. "It's over, Wanda…that part of our life is over now, try to remember that. No more, I promise." He desperately wants to say 'no more fighting'…but, sadly, he knows that won't be true.

When she doesn't answer, he wraps his arms around her in a comforting gesture. She doesn't fight him, but she doesn't return it either. Instead, Wanda allows herself to break down and cry into Pietro's shoulder.

They remain like this for several moments before her sobbing subsides, and she gains enough of her voice back to mutter, "Wasn't I supposed to be mad at you?"

Pietro smiles at his sister's attempt at humor, holding tightly to her as he responds, "You can be mad at me tomorrow, okay?"

"Mm-kay…"


End file.
